"For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. That's partially because of decades of public environmental campaigns, advertisements and even school education aimed at increasing recycling.
But the reality is that only a small fraction of plastic is ultimately recycled.
A recent Greenpeace report found that people may be putting plastic into recycling bins — but the amount of plastic transformed into new items in the U.S. is at a new roughly 5-6% low.
The plastic industry has spent tens of millions of dollars promoting the benefits of plastic, a product that, for the most part, was buried, was burned or, in some cases, wound up in the ocean. The problem has existed for decades. In all that time, less than 10 percent of plastic has ever been recycled."
Laura Sullivan, Emily Kwong, and Rebecca Ramirez report for NPR December 12, 2022.
